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Meaningful Assignments that Demonstrate Learning
2021 HILT Conference
Karina Lin-MurphyManager of Faculty DevelopmentDivision of Continuing Education
Adam BeaverDirector of Pedagogy
Derek Bok Center (FAS)
Why do we have assignments?
● To modulate difficulty● To distinguish between students’ levels of
achievement (and, therefore, grades)
● To create opportunities for students to practice the things they’re meant to learn
● To create opportunities for feedback○ For instructors, about where your
students are○ For students, to receive coaching from
your instructors
● Good assignments should be○ “hard,” and perhaps even a bit
mysterious, so that students’ performance will be distributed across a spectrum
○ graded (therefore, at least somewhat high stakes)
● Good assignments should be○ transparent○ sequenced, spaced, interleaved, and
scoped to allow for growth○ capable of producing authentic
evidence of student learning
An “old” answer A better answer
Allan Brandt, Amalie Moses Kass Professor of the History of Medicine in the Faculty of Medicine, and Professor of the History of Science (FAS)
Ingrid Katz, Associate Professor of Medicine (HMS)
Yasmin Escobedo Lozoya, Research Fellow in Genetics (HMS)Kathryn Lehigh, Research Fellow in Genetics (HMS)
Leonie Marinovich, Instructor (DCE)
Our panelists
Confronting COVID-19: Science, History, Policy
GenEd1170, Fall 2020Led by Allan Brandt and Ingrid Katz
Teaching about Covid in Real Time
Course Overview
● Integrating multidisciplinary framework
● 80 faculty from across the University
● Engaging students in intellectual discourse rooted in a wider socio-political context
● Promoting rigorous intellectual endeavor that promotes civic engagement beyond the classroom
Goal of Final Assignment
● Assignment with a social function beyond evaluation● Provide an opportunity to utilize a different format beyond a traditional research
paper○ Podcast using ethnographic and oral history approaches and methods○ “Solo commentary” style
● Goal to ensure current and future access through collaboration with Harvard archives
Podcast Assignment
Final Assignment divided into several smaller assignments:
● Assignment 1: Podcast topic proposal○ Students chose & justified topic○ Proposed 3 potential interviewees
● Assignment 2: Interview guide for one interview○ Students wrote a semi-structured interview guide, grounded in
scoping review / literature● Assignment 3: Summary and reflection on one interview
○ Students engaged in a post-interview reflection exercise (written) ● Assignment 4: Final podcast
Rubric for Final Assignment
Example Topics
Reflections
● Goal of situating an ongoing global crisis within socio-political contexts● Engaging with a broader community; interdisciplinary approaches● Being part of a larger discourse; the social values of scholarship● Audience beyond class faculty and teaching fellows
Meaningful Assignments that Demonstrate Learning
DGMD E-9 : Fundamentals of Digital Photography
Leonie Marinovich
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Course Overview & Goals
FALLTECHNICAL FOCUS
LECTURES 1 - 6
AESTHETIC FOCUS
LECTURES 7 - 15
© 2021. Leonie Marinovich
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Goals• Learn to Look & See the Light• Present their work in an aesthetically pleasing way :
• Document and record their progress à Learning Portfolio
• Apply professional standards and practices in their work• Including Asset Management
• Develop a visual literacy that also includes industry practices, ethics & appreciation for image-making and a language for discussing photography
© 2021. Leonie Marinovich
Assignment scaffolding
© 2021. Leonie Marinovich
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Assignments• Challenge : How do you give students an opportunity to succeed in a field that is
normally assessed in a very subjective way.• Identify aspects that can be quantified / qualified• Then: Break down each component in a descriptive, defined way
• Scaffolded approach• Start with low-risk technical skills development
• Assessment criteria • Complete / Incomplete (familiarize with Canvas, workflow and deadlines)• Introduce simple rubrics
• Culminates in technically demanding projects• Still Lifes ; documentary assignment• More complex rubric that builds on the previous experiences• Include Reflections
• Rubrics• First Build confidence and then challenge the students
© 2021. Leonie Marinovich
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Grading
Assignments
“Minor” Assignments
30%“Major”
Assignments, incl. portfolio
60%
Discussions & Quizzes10%
DGMD E-9 Fall 2021© 2021. Leonie Marinovich
Other tools
• Virtual Walkabout (optional) or during class time
• Assignment linked
© 2021. Leonie Marinovich
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Minor Assignments
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© 2021. Leonie Marinovich
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Simple Rubric
© 2021. Leonie Marinovich
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Major Assignments
© Tanya Rotolo
27
Advanced rubric
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Assignment Design & Implementation
• Some just don’t work as you envision – adapt/change/discard• Admit when it doesn’t work out
• Get student feedback• Timing & expectations of student growth (be realistic)• What works for one group doesn’t necessarily work for the next
• Have alternative assignments ready to use• Successes:
• Students (and I) feel accomplished by the end of the semester• The rigor of Harvard is maintained : Balance between technical and
intellectual
© 2021. Leonie Marinovich
Principles for Meaningful Assignment Design
Alignment and Clarity
Encourage Reflection
Structure Groupwork
Set expectations for the assignment’s importance and provide examples of
how to do it well
Ask students to submit more typically annotated academic products with
your assignment, such as a bibliography or “artist’s
statement”
Don’t leave group dynamics to chance: ask students to draft a group contract, and build work
time into class
Principles for Meaningful Assignment Design
Scaffolding Hackathons
Help students appreciate the relative importance of the different components
of your assignment by sharing a rubric
Use earlier assignments and in-class activities to create opportunities for
students to practice each of the skills they’ll need for
your capstone project
Don’t separate the telling from the doing: put on a hackathon where you can watch your students as
they work and coach them in real time
Rubrics
Your Turn: Design Challenge
Each group will work together to create their own meaningful assignment.
A pedagogical challenge to solve
A guided worksheet to complete
12 minutes
What You’ll Get
Establish the objectives
Choose the assignment modality
Decide on:
• the implementation plan• the scaffolding needed• the assessment plan
What You’ll Do
Your Turn: Design Challenge
• Click on the following link in the Zoom chat to open a folder of worksheets:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1QwtOPbl-XZcLOboLsI0ntKftQ71cC-Jh?usp=sharing
• Go to your breakout room
• Open the worksheet that corresponds to your group number
Debrief and Feedback
Let’s hear from 2–3 groups about the assessments you designed, and collate some takeaways!
• What will students be doing in the assessment your group built?• What was challenging about creating a meaning assignment? What
questions do you still have?
Thank you!
Karina [email protected] of Faculty DevelopmentDivision of Continuing Education
Adam [email protected]
Director of PedagogyDerek Bok Center (FAS)
Resources from the Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning
Guidance on Non-Traditional Forms of Assessments
FAQ on Non-Traditional Forms of Assessments
Examples of Non-Traditional Assessments
